1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a robotic gear-change mechanism for vehicular manual transmissions.
2. Background Art
It has been estimated that a manual transmission consumes about four miles per gallon less gasoline than the equivalent size automatic transmission. With the decreasing availability of natural fuels, there is an urgent need to conserve energy. It is estimated that billions of gallons of precious fuel can be saved each year if the original equipment in new cars were manual transmissions instead of automatic transmissions. Also, the United States government has become increasingly involved in the fuel consumption of automobile engines sold by car manufacturers. Car manufacturers are required to produce energy-efficient automobile to be in compliance with government restrictions.
Numerous selection devices have been employed to activate and change the operative condition of automotive transmission systems, particularly manual transmissions.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,329,798 discloses a push-button gear shift mechanism in which the gears are neutralized by depressing the clutch pedal and the selective shifting of the transmission gears is achieved by pushing the appropriate button.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,363,719 discloses a push-button safety interlocking device for a gear shift mechanism for automatically preventing the actuation of the gear shift mechanism which operates to limit the movement of the clutch pedal through four solenoids except under predetermined conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,458,421 discloses a push-button shift for a transmission having a selective control capability in which the depression of the clutch in conjunction with a push-button mounted on the steering column and flexible cables connected to the transmission shifting apparatus causes a gear shift change.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,248 is an automatic gear shift actuation mechanism which uses push-buttons in synchronism with engagement of the clutch release by employing solenoids to shift the transmission.
Manually-operated dry clutch multi-speed transmissions burn considerably less fuel than automatic transmissions, and when properly used, such transmissions last longer and require less maintenance than automatic transmissions. However, manual transmissions are cumbersome to operate. To initiate forward motion from a stopped position, the driver must periodically reposition the gearshift lever into numerous different positions depending upon the speed of the vehicle, and with each shift the driver must at the same time depress a clutch pedal.